Isle foreclosure rate up 169 percent

Hawaii foreclosure rate up 71% over June

Hawaii reported a 169 percent year-over-year jump in its foreclosure rate as a result of a slumping housing market that has pushed the state to 40th in a national foreclosure ranking.

The state posted 229 foreclosures, or one in every 2,184 households in July, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

Still, Hawaii continues to record a relatively low rate compared to other states, though the boost in foreclosures has a significant effect on real estate since people are being more cautious about buying, which is creating a chilling effect on the market, according to a RealtyTrac spokesman.

Hawaii's foreclosure rate more than doubled in July in the wake of a slumping housing market that has pushed the state to 40th in a national foreclosure survey.

No place to call home

The states with the most foreclosure activity per household last month:

State

1/every household

Percent change July '07

1. NV

106

+96.6%

2. CA

182

+85.3%

3. FL

186

+139.2%

4. AZ

195

+127.3%

5. Ohio

375

+1.1%

40. HI

2,184

+169.4%

-- U.S.

464

+55.1%

Source: RealtyTrac

The state reported a 169 percent jump in its foreclosure rate from July 2007 and a 71 percent increase from June, with 229 foreclosures filed, or one in every 2,184 households, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties. The state was ranked No. 45 in the previous month and in July 2007. In April, the state was 36th in the national ranking with a 218 percent jump in foreclosures from the year-earlier period.

Still, Hawaii continues to record a relatively low rate compared to other states, said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac spokesman.

"It's kind of a scary-looking number, but believe it or not there are other states increasing even faster," he said.

However, Blomquist added that the boost in foreclosures has a significant effect on real estate since people are being more cautious about buying, which is creating a chilling effect on the market.

The state reported 35 notices of defaults, 169 notices of trustee's sales and 25 properties that were repossessed by banks.

Among the counties, Maui had the highest foreclosure rate last month with one in every 816 households filing a foreclosure, followed by Kauai with one in every 1,666 households and the Big Island, with one in every 2,892 households. Honolulu reported that one in every 3,081 households received a foreclosure notice in July.

Foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions -- were reported on 272,171 U.S. properties last month, an 8 percent increase from the preceding month and 55 percent jump from July 2007. One in every 464 U.S. households saw foreclosures during the month.

Nevada, California and Florida posted the nation's highest rates, with one in every 106 Nevada households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, up 97 percent from the year earlier and 15 percent from the previous month. The state reported a total of 10,060 filings.

Vermont, West Virginia and South Dakota recorded the fewest number of foreclosures with five total filings, or one in every 61,911 households, down 44 percent from the year earlier and 85 percent from the previous month.

Bank repossessions continued to be the fastest-growing segment in July, posting a 184 percent year-over-year increase. That compares to a 53 percent year-over-year jump in default notices and an 11 percent year-over-year rise in auction notices.